We are pleased to announce that Portuguese translations supporting usage of the UTBMS codes in the Brazilian legal system have been added to UTBMS.com.   

We are grateful to the team at Barreto Viega Avogados (BV/A) in Sao Paulo Brazil and Miami, Florida for assisting with these translations.  Our main contact at the firm for this project was Lucas Abiz Luna, who enlisted the help of several at the firm to complete the translations.  His team included Felipe Barreto Veiga and Gustavo Fiuza Quedevez for project coordination, Litigation team members Luiz Gustavo Silva and Leonardo Carvalho, as well as IP team members Isabela Esher Castro Barbosa, Carolina Costa Simoni Côrrea and Danniel Rodrigues.  

Recognizing the global nature of legal ebilling, the LEDES Oversight Committee will shortly have available a version of the UTBMS code sets in simplified Chinese.  The project includes a natural explanation of the different legal processes included within the code definitions so that they are more easily understood in jurisdictions outside of the United States.  As soon as this first set is approved, we will quickly move to obtain translations into traditional Spanish, Arabic, traditional Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, French and Italian. 

Look for this new information on UTBMS.com in the coming months.  

This is the most expensive project undertaken in the organization’s history.  Unlike other organizations, the LEDES Oversight Committee does not have vendor or law department sponsors that underwrite our expenses, our revenue is derived solely from annual member dues, ($95 USD/year).  To support this project, consider joining the LEDES Oversight Committee.  

In 2020 the LEDES Oversight Committee is focusing on usability.  In this regard, we are working toward releasing versions of the UTBMS code sets better suited for use in non-US legal proceedings, meaning that we want to create versions containing descriptive language as opposed to using US-oriented legal procedural terms.  Once this is complete, we will then translate the UTBMS documents into simplified Chinese, traditional Spanish, Arabic, traditional Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, French and Italian.  

This project is being led by Director Jim Hannigan and is expected to take a year to complete.  One hurdle in this project is that many code sets were ratified by organizations other than the LEDES Oversight Committee, and we need their approval to move ahead with altering their original material. 

Our intention is to hire a legal translation company to assist with the translation.  A member law firm has already agreed to help approve the Chinese translations, to ensure everything makes sense before it is published.  Can you help us?  If so, please contact us using this link.